Yellow Tablescape

Lately I’ve been obsessed with the color Lemon Yellow.  It all started with my Easter gift from my husband.  He gave me a small rosebush that was wrapped in yellow paper. (he knows me so well)

                                    Easter Roses

And the Forsythia bushes that my sister had given me years ago, are in bloom right now.

                                   Forsythia Centerpiece for yellow tablescape

Yes, I’m seeing yellow every where.  So naturally, I had to create a yellow tablescape.  It turned out so nicely.  (even got a compliment from my son!)

I started with a solid white tablecloth as an underlay & then covered it with a white lace tablecloth.  Then I added yellow reversible placemats (tutorial coming soon)  & yellow linen napkins. The Forsythia was placed in a large glass vase.

Yellow Tablescape with Forsythia

Continue reading

Patriotic Bird House Wind Chime

It’s been a long winter, and it feels so good to throw open the windows and let the warm breeze come into the house.  Starting the Spring house cleaning is always a chance to re-do some things, and that gets my creative juices flowing.  The warmer weather has also been pulling my thoughts to the outdoors.

When I was browsing through Michaels & Joanne Fabrics, I saw some bird houses in all shapes & sizes.  It got me thinking of how to decorate them & use them outside.  This is the first in a series of birdhouses. The post is very long because it’s picture laden.  But it really doesn’t take that long to do.

Patriotic Bird House, Patriotic Bird House Wind Chime

Here’s how I did it:

Continue reading

No Sew Place Mat

I’ve recently gotten a request from someone who doesn’t have a sewing machine, but wants to create her own unique tablescapes. So I thought I’d share a quick way to make placemats without having to sew a stitch.

 

Here’s what you’ll need: Continue reading

Shabby Chic Candelabra

My mother-in-law gave me this candelabra when we were first married.  It’s now 22 years old.  It was gold plated & absolutely beautiful.  But with time, the gold plating was coming off & it was starting to look a little worse for wear.  I wanted to use it, but it needed help.  So, I did the unthinkable.  I painted it.  It has gone from a gold candelabra to a Shabby Chic Candelabra!  And all it took was a little paint, some crystals & a little patients.

candelabra before & after

This is how I did it.  Continue reading

My Little Night Light

I’ve had this little night light/lamp for more years than I care to admit to.  I love this little lamp.  It’s perfect for the corner of the dining area & sheds enough light at night to guide our steps for that late night glass of water or fridge raid.  But it’s seen better days.  The base & shade have aged to the point where it doesn’t look so good anymore.  I really love this little light, and I guess I could have replaced it, but I know I’ll never find another one, so I had to save it.  It needed an overhaul.

Night Light before & after

And this is how I did it: Continue reading

Changing a Bathroom with Color

I like to decorate using white as a backdrop for my rooms.  I know… boring.  But when you use a neutral color as a background, it’s easy to change the room from season to season.  Spring is here!  And I wanted to add some color in the house.  I’m always changing the table setting, but this time I wanted to add some color to the bathroom.

I had repainted the shelves in the bathroom a while ago & went with ivy, pearls & clear candle holders, but it was time for a change. Continue reading

Silver & White Tablescape

When you’re a crafter or an artist, you don’t look at things the same way that other people do.  You always look at an item & say, “What can I do with this?”  When I was shopping at Walmart, I found this silver dance-wear fabric.  It really is a bright metallic silver.  (It just looks a little ‘purple’ because of the sun shining in my craft room window.)  As soon as I saw it, I just knew I had to have it.  I bought a couple of yards of it.

The girl that rang up my purchase looked at me a little strangely.  I told her what I had in mind & she said, “I thought maybe you were going to make a silver disco outfit”.  (she knows that I make a lot of my own clothing)

What I had in mind was a table cloth.  Seriously.  A table cloth.  Continue reading

The centerpiece challenge

I was given a challenge recently.  Create a centerpiece for a 1st birthday party, for a little boy who was born on St. Patrick’s Day, (no problem) but, make the centerpiece ‘playable’.   This was going to be a tough one, but my creative juices got going right away.  What I came up with was a “Lucky Charms” theme.

I actually had to do some research about the cereal, because we don’t usually have sugary cereals in our house.

What I found were the colors of the marshmallows.  Pink hearts, orange stars, yellow moons, green clovers, red balloons, blue diamonds.  And naturally, Lucky the Leprechaun.

Continue reading

Magic Face

This is something that I made for my little ones when they were young.  Seems like a million years ago.  Now, I make them for the little ones that come into the place where I work.  It keeps the little ones busy while Mom or Dad are trying to check out.   I take it to them & say, “have you ever seen a Magic Face?”

When I give it to them, I always tell them a little story.

“This is a Magic Face.  And he looks really sad, doesn’t he?”  I always get a sad nod to this.

Then I say, “Do you know how to make him happy?”  That’s when I get the sad face and they shake their head.

Then I tell them, “You have to turn their frown, upside down!”

That’s when I turn the sad face upside down:

The look on their faces is so adorable.  Their little eyes open up wide & they’re so surprised!  Then they have to show Mom or Dad.  Most of the time they say, “happy, sad, happy, sad”.  It helps them to start looking at things just a little differently & opens their minds to a little creativity.

It always amazes me how something so small, can make a little one so happy.  And I can’t tell you how many parents have thanked me.

Give it a try on your little ones, and watch the smiles begin.